Archive for the ‘Marketing’ Category

In the last couple years browsing by cell phone as increased ten fold! Apple has still not incorporated the ability to read flash files in their mobile devices. When I’m out and about with friends and we’re searching for a place to dine, the first thing everyone does is reach for their phone to see what’s local. The next thing that happens is the click to view the restaurant’s website to see the ambiance and of course, the menu. So often I am disappointed because the website is either so poorly designed, the menu is a PDF and doesn’t load quickly, or the flash won’t play rendering the site useless.

I truly believe that most restaurant owners have a website simply because they think they should. What they do not realize is that a website is an incredibly valuable tool that can drive their business to new levels in so many ways!

I’ve put together some very simple concepts that every restaurant should incorporate within their website. These are the bare essentials:

A full menu that can be printed which is easy for the restaurant staff to update with a simple click or two.

A specials menu that changes daily. (Also easy to update with a simple click or two!)

A page telling of the restaurant’s history or their story is always interesting to readers.

Services the establishment offers are important for extended business.

Galleries – both video and pictures can sell a potential patron on trying a particular restaurant. Good quality pictures taken from a ditial camera utilzing the proper lighting and capturing the essence of the establishment is a vital part of the presentation.

While not every restaurant offers events or live entertainment, it’s truly something that should be considered and implemented. A calendar with a list of events always helps to sell an evening. We incorporate a module that is built into your website and is easy to update. We have also utilized Google Calendar and Microsoft’s Outlook Celendar modules upon request.

Reviews are an essential part of a restuarant’s business. Perhaps I should say “good” reviews! It’s not always a written review that sells someone on a place to dine. Reviews can also be video reviews. If a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine what a video is worth!

A contact page with a custom form or forms that are directly sent to one or multiple email accounts of your choosing.

A live interactive map that will allow a patron to get and print directions from their location directly to yours without ever leaving your site!

As an additional option, a live reservation system can be put into place so your clientele can manage and book their reservations online.

As another additonal option, a live ordering module can be added to your website that allows your clientele to place pick-up orders via your website. You can be notified of a new order by email.

The ability to simply add content to your site, manage and edit everything is through a simple interface that is as easy as creating a Word Doc or updating a Facebook page is part of your package.
Choose from one of our original professional template designs, or have us customize something for you. And what about a simplified mobile version of your website that will show automatically when cell phones are connected to your site? No problem! That’s included as well!

Let’s not forget about the social networking scene! You can’t afford not to be a part of it! It’s happening now! It’s been happening for a while! It’s FREE marketing that goes viral and it doesn’t cost you a cent! Imagine being able to update your website with a promotional event and with one click of a button, facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are also updated with your new content! You’ve just killed four birds with one stone! Automation! There’s nothing better!

The trends have changed. It happened so fast you probably missed it. 50% of Americans are using their mobile devices for shopping activities which include comparing prices, reading reviews and making purchases. Once the economy returns to some sort of normalcy, these numbers will climb substantially.

Every site that WebAuthorings produces records statistical user information. These stats show this is not just a trend, but a formidable method of habitual communication. While there are dozens of cell phone brands and a multitude of operating systems, the two biggest players are Apple and Google. Up until about two years ago, Apple’s technology controlled market share. Google’s Android OS has far surpassed the Apple numbers.

The beauty of mobile browsing is instant gratification. You don’t need to be behind a computer to be online. You can be in a Starbucks, library or in a park. You can be on a bus or out for a walk. You have the world at your fingertips with a smartphone. Applications, now called apps, are created by programmers to make your smartphone browsing even easier. Facebook apps, for example, allow you to update, comment and browse pictures without having to navigate through the actual Facebook website, but rather a streamlined mobile site.

If you’re one of our clients, we can turn your website into a mobile-friendly smartphone app. Contact us to see how we can do this for you.

Since the early days of the Internet, search engines have been the main source for finding information about pretty much anything. Google remains number one with more than 2 billion searches a day back in 2008. While Google and search engines will never ever go away, they are on their way to becoming the lesser focus of driving visitors to your website.

Recent reports predict that digital strategies like social networking sites and mobile marketing will influence the consumer’s buying decissions by 80% within the next 3 years. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Plaxo and thousands of other social sites have gained increased popularity in the last 8 years. Facebook boasts more than 750 million active users. The reason these types of sites are so popular as well as an amazing marketing focal point is because of their stickiness. In other words they are very addictive to every age group. Users return to their favorite social sites multiple times throughout the day.

Within the huge network of users are millions of little neighborhoods that allow friends, cliques, groups, clubs and organizations to socialize on a daily basis. Personal recommendations such as Facebook’s Like Button allow connected friends, family, coworkers and acquaintances to share links to their favorite places, both on-line and off-line. Marketers know the value of word of mouth. With social media, one person’s words can reach hundreds or even thousands of people with a click of a button. Cost effective? You bet! But it doesn’t just happen! You have to work the social networking sites as well as putting in the required time to your blog, e commerce site or content site. This is done by acquiring social on-line relationships on the social sites of your choosing . It means you have to actively seek out people on a daily basis, request friendships, join groups and other member’s communities and play the social networking game religiously. This doesn’t mean you constantly blast out adverts and links until you become reported for spamming. You have to be smart about touting your links and marketing materials. Think of how much you hate telemarketers calling you at home. For most social net-workers their space is personal to them. Treat their virtual home with respect.

Every site we build for our clients offers an automated way to have posts and advertisements appear as if by magic on each of your social networking sites or pages. We call this feature SocialNET. With just one simple post or update to your website built by WebAuthorings, your Facebook wall will be updated, your post will be tweeted to Twitter and your LinkedIn account will be updated. In essence you’re killing four birds with the throw of a single stone!

If your current site is not doing this for you, call me today to see how WebAuthorings can add this incredible social networking package to your site. SocialNET encompasses an array of media icons that each link to your social accounts. An interactive Facebook Like or Recommend link is also included. The ability to automate your postings into your social networking accounts depends on whether or not your site has the ability to generate an RSS feed. If your site was built by us, it has that feature. If not, we can work out addititional plans to incorporate and RSS feed into your existing site.